It’s time for another week of Jimmy Garoppolo speculation.
Last week, both Kyle Shanahan and Garoppolo made it seem like the quarterback had a real chance of playing after tearing the UCL ligament in his throwing thumb. A number of national reports said the opposite, that Garoppolo’s odds of playing were remote. It turns out they were correct, as Trey Lance made his second career start on Sunday.
It appears we are going to go through a similar situation this week. Shanahan made it seem like a Jimmy G return was on the table during Monday’s presser, and mentioned that while surgery is possibility, he may not need it. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network seems to disagree on both fronts.
“First the surgery part. My understanding is he does need surgery, which is not a surprise,” Rapoport said on KNBR Monday. “It is a torn ligament, and a lot of times when you have a torn ligament, it needs to be repaired. It’s a UCL in his thumb and it ripped off the bone. The reason why it is a bone chip — and I know Kyle Shanahan seemed like he was criticized for not saying it was a fracture — it was a fracture but it was more of a torn ligament. The bone chipped off when the ligament tore, so I’m not sure I would call it a fracture either, I would say it’s like a bone chip and then a torn ligament, which is a serious injury and one that obviously affects how well a quarterback can grip a football among other things, which seems to be a pretty important thing.”
On Garoppolo playing, Rapoport acknowledged that there are differing beliefs, and that those who are most bullish on a swift return are in the 49ers’ building.
“So he does need surgery, but he does not need immediate surgery. Depending on who you talk to, it varies as to what kind of chance he has to play on Sunday. I’ve talked to some people who say ‘this is not going to improve without surgery, and he can’t grip a ball now, and he’s not going to be able to grip a ball later. This is not going to go well, and he’s not going to be able to play.’
“Then there are other people, and certainly some people with the 49ers including Kyle Shanahan who’s said publicly that he believes there’s a chance that he plays. I know some people reported that the 49ers believe he plays on Sunday, I believe it’s a little more open ended. We will see, but that is where it all stands.”
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